Tales of La Canela is the first scenario of the El Dorado campaign in Age of Empires II HD: The Forgotten.
Intro[]
A city of gold is said to be somewhere in the New World, but it is a distant memory now. I looked upon that accursed land with greed, and I lost my eye for it. Our leader is also missing an eye, but he lost it long ago. I am on the brigantine San Pedro, and I can hear him shouting orders from La Victoria to our side. Francisco de Orellana wears a black eyepatch on his face, matched by his black hair, black beard, and high cheekbones. In spite of that, there was many a time he saved us with a precise musket shot during our maddening and catastrophic adventure.
We followed him upon this massive river and through a vast jungle. And we will follow him out. We are on the Atlantico now. I did not like ocean travel before, but the smell of salt water is a welcome feeling after smelling only sweat and humidity for almost two years. The men sense a storm coming. Don Orellana has asked me to keep a copy of my journal. I do not know why, but it will be a good diversion as we set sail for many weeks. But I cannot continue with the rain waters pounding on my paper, sweeping away everything I write. So I will go below and start at the beginning.
January, 1541 - I have decided to join an expedition to the East as a chaplain. The natives claim there exists a Land of Cinnamon. Governor Francisco Pizarro, the man who conquered the Inca, calls it Pais de la Canela. His brother Gonzalo will lead the force, and their nephew Francisco de Orellana, Governor of La Culata, is the one who recruited me. Men are eager to join, but they do not talk of cinnamon. They talk of a king who covers himself in gold to show the wealth of his kingdom. And of course, his palace must be gold, his very capital must be made of gold. They say it is called... El Dorado.
Objectives[]
- Francisco de Orellana must survive.
- At least one scout must survive.
Main objectives[]
- Travel to Quito and find Gonzalo Pizarro.
- Kill Pineda's 4 sergeants (marked with flags). Do not alarm the rest of Pineda's men.
- Visit Carlos the merchant.
- Kill the merchant's guards.
- Go back to Gonzalo.
- Return to La Culata to recruit more soldiers.
- Click on the Pavillions[sic] next to the units you'd like to buy:
Conquistador: 100 gold- Champion: 60 gold
- Arbalester: 45 gold
- Hand Cannoneer: 50 gold
- Long Swordsman: 40 gold
- Gather all your men and go to the Sumaco Valley, located east of Quito, to find Pizzaro's camp.
- Bring at least one of your scouts to Gonzalo.
- Hold off the incan rebels and accumulate 100 kills.
Secondary objectives[]
- Find the lost searching party.
- Destroy the gray dock to gather its food.
- To recruit the slingers, collect 100 food and select their hut.
- Plunder the temple of Viracocha/Inti/Supay/Pacha Kamaq.
- To recruit the kamayuks, collect 100 food and select their hut.
Hints[]
- Use your army wisely and keep your soldiers alive, you will need as many as possible in the final part.
- The friendly monks can heal your army.
- Orellana is fast and has ranged attack, do not keep him standing still when he fights.
- Explore the area southwest and northwest of Quito, you can find adventures and profit.
- Recruit the most useful warriors in La Culata, their mobility is crucial for later battles.
- Use hit-and-run tactics in the ruined town. Do not engage at the southern part, but rather, lure the enemies to the north.
- Francisco de Orellana may not reach the Imperial Age.
Scouts[]
- Francisco de Orellana (blue) starts in castle age with a small army in La Culata but without any villagers or base. He has to find and speak with Gonzalo Pizarro.
- La Culata (teal) is a friendly town located on the western shores of the map. Here you can recruit soldiers after you have spoken with Pizarro.
- Quito (orange) is an allied city; it is found east of La Culata and in the center of the map.
- Gonzalo Pizarro (red) is your ally; he can supply you with an army and will give you objectives.
- Gonzalo Diaz de Pineda (yellow) is your rival conquistador; he is neutral to you and is residing in Quito.
- Locals (purple) are friendly natives; their soldiers can join your army, and their villagers can provide you with food.
- Rebels (green) are your enemy; they use guerilla tactics and have small groups placed all over the map. In addition, they have a large force hidden somewhere in the mountains around Quito.
- Incan ruins (gray) are neutral to you and their structures can be used for defense or resupply.
Players[]
Player[]
- Francisco de Orellana ( Spanish): After a brief dialogue, Francisco de Orellana, two Scout Cavalry, and two Conquistadors are switched from Gonzalo Pizarro to the player, all of them starting in the middle of the La Culata base.
Allies[]
- Gonzalo Pizarro ( Spanish): Francisco de Orellana's (the player) superior, and his base is to the east. At certain times of the gameplay, he has conversations with Orellana, and at certain times the player's units are transferred to Pizarro to prevent the player from using them. The player's starting units are initially possessed by Pizarro as well. He has a few Conquistadors to the northwest (northeast of La Culata) who join the player once discovered.
- La Culata ( Inca): Located to the west, where the player starts. They have a Monk whom the player may reach for healing. After completing the tasks given by Pizarro in Quito, the player may buy additional units here before embarking on the journey further east.
- Locals ( Incas): A small village to the northwest which tribute 200 food once found, as well as three slingers to the southwest and three Kamayuks to the northeast of Quito, whom each group of them offer to join the player if the they click on their yurt and give 100 food to the group.
- Quito ( Incas): Located in the middle of the map, where Orellana is supposed to meet Pizarro and fulfill the tasks given by him.
Ally → Neutral → Ally[]
- Gonzalo Diaz de Pineda ( Spanish): Orellana's rival Conquistador, having several units and buildings in Quito. His stance towards the player is always 'ally', therefore will not resist even if attacked. Pizarro instructs Orellana to kill all the four Sergeants of Pineda in Quito. However, if any other of Pineda's soldiers gets killed, he will turn against the player, and if Pineda himself gets killed, the player loses the game.
Neutral[]
- Incan Ruins ( Incas): An abandoned village to the northeast which the player takes over to fight the Rebels, a dock to the southwest which the player may destroy to get 100 gold, as well as four Monasteries which the player may destroy to get 100 gold each. Their stance towards the player is always 'ally'.
Enemy[]
- Rebels ( Incas): Soldiers scattered all over the map, made up of slingers, Kamayuks, Jaguar Warriors, and Eagle Warriors. Each abandoned Monastery mentioned above are protected by the Rebels. They also have a big yurt to the east of Quito (which must be reached by a hidden path from the south of the city). Destroying the yurt rewards 100 gold. When the player takes over the abandoned village, the Rebels invade the village.
Strategy[]
You are playing as Francisco de Orellana, starting from La Culata, and you need to meet Gonzalo Pizarro in Quito. Then he will ask you to kill the four sergeants of Gonzalo Diaz de Pineda in Quito (they will be specially revealed) and then bribe Carlos the merchant (a petard, in the eastern part of Quito) to delay the shipment. As you (Francisco de Orellana) witnessed Carlos and threatened to tell his wife, he will order two of his guards (Halberdiers) to kill you. You may need some hit-and-run tactics to kill them. Only after will Carlos agree your demand.
Either before or after meeting Pizarro, you may fulfill some "secondary objectives" to collect gold for buying troops in La Culata (after returning from Quito upon completing the primary objectives mentioned above), and collecting food to recruit native Incan units. Along the way you may encouter Rebels which you'll have to fight.
As your troops travel east from Quito heading towards Pizarro's base in the Sumaco Valley, you will encounter two groups of Rebels before reaching the Incan Ruins. Send at least one of the Scout Cavalry to meet Pizarro in his base. After that the Incan Ruins temporarily become your base, and you must defend against the Rebels until you have accumulated a total of 100 kills in the scenario. Once the enemies retreat, Pizarro will come and have a chat with you again before you are declared victor of the scenario.
Outro[]
March, 1541 - It has been one month since we left La Culata. Many of our men have commended their spirits to the Lord, others have run back to Quito. I do not blame them. At least we were heartened by meeting with Pizarro's main force last night. Even among the leaders of our expedition, the tales of cinnamon are beginning to give way to tales of gold. Orellana spoke of the deserters and the dead: "You men who are left, you have the strongest will. Hernan Cortes conquered the Mexica. Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca. We will conquer El Dorado!" We rested in the Valley of Sumaco, the farthest east any of us had been. In fact, Orellana is the only man on the expedition familiar with Sumaco. When I looked towards the east at sunrise, I saw an unending sea of green.
Trivia[]
- There are a few buildings in Quito which are actually transferred from Gonzalo Pizarro, which explains the Western European architecture instead of the New World/Mesoamerican one.
